CSA report: Radish surprise, kale, and spinach for kids

The big surprise this week: Not only does my toddler love radishes (and I admit, they are not something I would normally pick up unless they were in pre-mixed salad) but I have fallen in love with this recipe for Radish Slaw in Lettuce Cups. That’s one of the best things about our CSA, we get taken out of our veggie comfort zone. My older child did not actually consume any, but 1/2 isn’t bad.

The spinach was easy: Spinach and Feta Pie. Here’s a weird thing: My sons won’t eat quiche but they do love egg pie. Funny how that works sometimes.

Whenever I serve something like that, though, I have a backup plan in mind. I generally try to follow Ellyn Satter’s rules for kids and food, which come down to it’s my job to serve healthy food and my kids’ to eat it, and don’t provide short-order cook meals. But she also recommends always putting something on the table you know they’ll eat, and so I was prepared to bring out some bread and cheese. (Feel free to tell me if you think I’m a pushover.)

As with previous weeks, strawberries and peas were no problem. Both my son and I took the sugar snap peas in our lunches raw, and they were really nice.

I served the kale as a side dish, sauteed with some garlic and sea salt. It was also an activity with my toddler; he helped wash all the dirt off. Neither child loved that, so I definitely do have to try the Kale Chips.

Do you allow your kids a ‘backup meal’ if they don’t like what you’re serving?